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points by snek_case 3 days ago | 0 comments

At this point though gaming GPUs are not exactly affordable. You need a 32GB GPU to be able to run something genuinely useful for coding, and that's thousands of dollars. Still, happy to see open models make lots of progress. I just hope hardware prices come back to earth.

[–] Zambyte 3 days ago

24 GB 7900 XTX user here. You can do a ton with less than 32 GB. It definitely drops off quick, but 32 GB is not the floor for useful AI.

[–] jacquesm 3 days ago

Realistically I think 16GB is the lower limit and you can find those cheap enough still. Then you run llama.cpp to bond your cards and it's off to the races.

[–] Risse 3 days ago

24 GB 3090 user here. What is the best model for coding you have used? Qwen3.8 27B?

[–] Zambyte 3 days ago

I use Qwen 3.8 27b, yeah. I don't really shop around for models a whole lot besides generational jumps, and it doesn't feel like there will be anything too worth switching to until Qwen 4 (hoping they release a similarly sized model, I'm not actually certain they have said they will?)

[–] jacquesm 3 days ago

If you haven't found it yet: ninfer-3090 is worth checking out if you use just one GPU.

[–] geerlingguy 3 days ago

Scrappy builds aren't "affordable" but are more so than running Nvidia + optimized builds. You could put together a machine for $5000 or less that competes with frontier models from less than a year ago, albeit a little slower.

And cards like the $1600 (sheesh) R9700 have actually gotten more capable through community efforts at optimization, since their launch.

I think if the bubble can ever deflate/pop, and GPUs and RAM back off a bit, we'll see the dam burst for local AI.

Right now it's only accessible to people who can justify the costs.

[–] ndriscoll 3 days ago

If you had been paying any attention at all over the last year, there were 32GB AMD cards at like $1200-1400 and Intel at a little over $1000. I actually hadn't yet noticed they've gone up in price and had last checked only a couple months ago. But even at like $2000, that's still comparable to the nominal price of a mid 90s consumer PC for actual magic.

[–] jacquesm 3 days ago

> for actual magic

Precisely. It is cheap at almost any price.

[–] shimon 3 days ago

Can confirm. Our household is involved in raising two natural intelligences. They are quite expensive to maintain. Chances they will offer positive economic return are unclear. The value proposition on comptuer-based intelligence, by-token or through hardware ownership, seems much clearer.

I have to admit I am a sort of enthusiast for the natural intelligences, though.

[–] jacquesm 3 days ago

Likewise, I have four of those. Occasionally there are installation issues and some of the training feels like there is resistance but the final results are definitely worth it, far more satisfying than any piece of technology.